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Programming and Computer Software

Decomposition of a Finite Quantum System into Subsystems: Symbolic–Numerical Approach

Vladimir V. Kornyak

Published Jul 17, 2022• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Any Hilbert space with composite dimension can be represented as a tensor product of Hilbert spaces of lower dimensions. This factorization makes it possible to decompose a quantum system into subsystems. We propose a model based on finite quantum mechanics for the constructive study of decompositions of an isolated quantum system into subsystems. To study the behavior of the composite systems resulting from the decompositions, we develop algorithms based on methods of computer algebra and computational group theory.

DOI
10.1134/s0361768822020062

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Abstract Any Hilbert space with composite dimension can be represented as a tensor product of Hilbert spaces of lower dimensions. This factorization makes it possible to decompose a quantum system into subsystems. We propose a model based on finite quantum mechanics for the constructive study of decompositions of an isolated quantum system into subsystems. To study the behavior of the composite systems resulting from the decompositions, we develop algorithms based on methods of computer algebra and computational group theory.
We study the question of how to decompose Hilbert space into a preferred tensor-product factorization without any preexisting structure other than a Hamiltonian operator, in particular the case of a bipartite decomposition into ``system'' and ``environment.'' Such a decomposition can be defined by looking for subsystems that exhibit quasiclassical behavior. The correct decomposition is one in which pointer states of the system are relatively robust against environmental monitoring (their entanglement with the environment does not continually and dramatically increase) and remain localized around approximately classical trajectories. We present an in-principle algorithm for finding such a decomposition by minimizing a combination of entanglement growth and internal spreading of the system. Both of these properties are related to locality in different ways. This formalism is relevant to questions in the foundations of quantum mechanics and the emergence of spacetime from quantum entanglement.
There are many ways to decompose the Hilbert space H of a composite quantum system into tensor product subspaces. Different subsystem decompositions generally imply different interaction Hamiltonians V, and therefore different expectation values for subsystem observables. This means that the uniqueness of physical predictions is not guaranteed, despite the uniqueness of the total Hamiltonian H and the total Hilbert space H. Here we use Clausius’ version of the second law of thermodynamics (CSL) and standard identifications of thermodynamic quantities to identify possible subsystem decompositions. It is shown that agreement with the CSL is obtained, whenever the total Hamiltonian and the subsystem-dependent interaction Hamiltonian commute (i.e. [H,V]=0). Not imposing this constraint can result in the transfer of heat from a cooler to a hotter subsystem, in conflict with thermodynamics. We also investigate the status of the CSL with respect to non-standard definitions of thermodynamic quantities and quantum subsystems.
Abstract This work outlines a consistent method of identifying subsystems in finite-dimensional Hilbert spaces, independent of the underlying inner-product structure. Such Hilbert spaces arise in P T -symmetric quantum mechanics, where a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian is made self-adjoint by changing the inner product using the so-called ‘metric operator’. This is the framework of pseudo-Hermitian quantum mechanics. For composite quantum systems in this framework, defining subsystems is generally considered feasible only when the metric operator is chosen to have a tensor product form so that a partial trace operation can be well defined. In this work, we use arguments from algebraic quantum mechanics to show that the subsystems can be well-defined in every metric space—irrespective of whether or not the metric is of tensor product form. This is done by identifying subsystems with a decomposition of the underlying C ∗ -algebra into commuting subalgebras. Although the choice of the metric is known to have no effect on the system’s statistics, we show that different choices of the metric can lead to inequivalent subsystem decompositions. Each of the subsystems can be tomographically constructed and these subsystems satisfy the no-signalling principle. With these results, we put all the choices of the metric operator on an equal footing for composite systems.
Symmetries of finite Heisenberg groups represent an important tool for the study of deeper structure of finite-dimensional quantum mechanics. This short contribution presents extension of previous investigations to composite quantum systems comprised of k subsystems which are described with position and momentum variables in n i , i = 1,..., κ . Their Hilbert spaces are given by κ -fold tensor products of Hilbert spaces of dimensions n 1 ,..., n κ . Symmetry group of the corresponding finite Heisenberg group is given by the quotient group of a certain normalizer. We provide the description of the symmetry groups for arbitrary multipartite cases. The new class of symmetry groups represents very specific generalization of finite symplectic groups over modular rings.